Long and Winding Road (EM, Maze)

[Ali ibn Farid]

How many journeys begin with a chance meeting? How to tell a chance meeting from a fated one? Those questions were on Ali's mind as he and his two companions set out from the temple that morning. Rising early, giving devotions, and giving charity, certainly added to the sense of growing fate.

Shaking his head, Ali did his best to dismiss the strange thoughts. It was better to focus on the present, on the now. Still, he was a bit quiet, contemplative as he lead the trio through the Maze to their destination.

But not entirely quiet. "Is this your first time here, miss?" He asked the young woman. "Here in the Maze, that is. I know better than to ask anyone if they've been in any particular part of the Maze before." Indeed, the street that they were on looked much like any other, winding here and there, peppered with intersections, the nearby buildings seeming to loom over them.

Traversing the Maze, no guts no glory! Unskilled Perception: 3d10 20

[Lamis Naaji]

Lamis feels far less of such things, Fate is invisible. Luck you can at least see the hand of when it touches you, but it's hard to see it coming. Her coins are tucked in a pouch beneath her caftan, as being of little use on this trip, and her knife is easily to hand. She doesn't trust this city. And let's be honest, her new companions were met yesterday, and are competitors, so she doesn't exactly trust them either.

She watches everything as they travel, seeing the wealth of the city give way to the merely comfortable, at the edges of that wealth. Not so different than the space where she was staying. Renting from a widow with space and an eye to make a few pool off of the influx of visitors.

Then the not terribly comfortable. The old buildings falling into disrepair that only grows worse as they continue on and the streets grow close and stinking even in the relative cool of the morning. She shakes her head, saying quietly. "almost seems better to try surviving the desert if this is the best the city can offer someone."

[Ali ibn Farid]

"It's not." Ali said. "Just the best it can offer to some." He continued to lead the way, both alert and armed, although he was casting his gaze here and there less to spot trouble, and more to make sure he knew where he was, at least more or less. He paused a moment, counting streets in his head, nodding when he was satisfied he had the right number.

"How much of the city have you seen?" He asked, not looking at her, focused on the street. "There are rich and poor, and all of those in-between. The haves and the have-nots, I suppose. The people who live here don't have much, but at least they have some shelter, and perhaps a little more. And perhaps they have their neighbors... although perhaps not."

[Lamis Naaji]

"Not a lot," she admits, glancing down an alley. "The competition field, the market, the temple, my rented room in a much better quarter than this, and the streets along the way.." It's not actually cold, but she finds herself wanting a cloak to pull around her a bit tighter, feeling out of place, and thus exposed.

"The differences between rich and poor don't feel as extreme on the sands. Everyone in a given band is going to be roughly equal since so much of the work is shared. It's possible that ba luck strikes only your horses in the herd, but it's rare. Good and poor years affect us all. The differences between families or tribes may be larger, but seldom like what I see here where this is so different from the district I'm staying in"

"Have you both lived here all your lives?" She's about to ask where they live in these obviously stratified bits of the city, then stops, unsure of the etiquette. Like asking where the hidden oasis of your tribe is located.

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

If more philosophical questions had been on Faruq's mind as they met early in the temple, or while they made their way to their destination, it isn't clear to any looking at him. He showed up even before the others, smelling of incense and a sparing dose of perfume, his face washed clean but not particularly rested - those who noticed such things would probably guess Faruq was one of the many residents of the city who often slept during hotter hours of the day instead of during the cooler hours of the night.

Letting Ali lead them this time to the place in the Maze where they would set down to offer food, water and - in his case, at least - services, he could notice that, while the man was definitely careful, he navigated the streets probably more easily than he did himself, even if he had been to the area a number of times. Ali had said he lived close by as well, and even that he had a view of part of the area fro his window, but he couldn't be sure whether the greater ease in the area came from that, or just from... maybe better instincts?

One way or another, he used the opportunity of not having to stop and think about where he was going after every two corners to point out to Lamis at least some of the many parts of the city that had one story or another behind them - especially as they crossed the Mekham district.

In the Maze proper, the number of places he knew well enough to properly tell anything about them was much more limited, but he still tried to show her at least one or two things - but it soon became clear that she seemed interested - or at least surprised - in the conditions of the area, perhaps more so than on whatever few stories he might have to tell - which, granted, weren't that many to begin with.

"The people who live here don't have much, but at least they have some shelter, and perhaps a little more. And perhaps they have their neighbors... although perhaps not."

Faruq thought hard about Ali's words. That was perhaps one of the things he hoped to achieve, offering help wherever he could. Showing people they could have their neighbours. They could have one another, and grow stronger in that sense of community.

Of course, helping people feel they had enough to survive through the day was important too - and often came first.

But Lamis' answer came before he had a chance to say anything about that.

"The differences between rich and poor don't feel as extreme on the sands. Everyone in a given band is going to be roughly equal since so much of the work is shared. It's possible that bad luck strikes only your horses in the herd, but it's rare. Good and poor years affect us all. The differences between families or tribes may be larger, but seldom like what I see here where this is so different from the district I'm staying in"

Hearing Lamis' words about the Sands made him think quietly for quite some time again. Good and poor years affecting all equally, work shared. Difficult times would exist, of course - they might come often, even. But to not have one's hunger caused, or at least worsened, by another's extravagance... that sounded almost like an utopia to him - and his mouth slowly crept into a smile as he thought about it.

"Have you both lived here all your lives?" She's about to ask where they live in these obviously stratified bits of the city, then stops, unsure of the etiquette. Like asking where the hidden oasis of your tribe is located.

After his long reverie, Faruq finally nodded in answer to the nomad's question. "Ay. Born and raised here - and not too far from the Maze itself. In fact, we went through areas close to both my family's former home and my current one while crossing the Mekham district."

He left some time for Ali's own answer - which he thought he more or less knew by now - then took the time for a question of his own.

"And you, Sayyeda... is it your first time in the city? From what you've said in the temple, I'd guess your people travel often, 'alays kdhlk? Eh... what was your people's name again? Asif for my memory... and also for the curiosity. You've said you share most of the work, then? So there's nothing like nobles, powerful merchants who might as well own others, and..."

He looks over his shoulder, then around - his tongue just might have got a bit too loose. Feeling around his belt for his knives, he looks at her again, apologising for the interruption, then continues. "I guess... could you tell us something more about your people?"

[Ali ibn Farid]

"Indeed." Ali nodded. "All my life."

But after considering for a moment, he went on. "But not here all my life." He held out a hand, palm down, indicating the Maze. "The city's big enough that it's important to be specific. I grew up in the Mekham district. One of the poorer parts of it, which has some similarities to this, but doesn't quite go on and on."

He paused a moment, frowning, then directed the trio down a side street. "My parents still live there. It's one of the reasons why I don't live in the heart of the Maze." One of many. "I'm fortunate to have the space I do. Not everyone has a carpenter for a father."

[Lamis Naaji]

"And you, Sayyeda... is it your first time in the city? From what you've said in the temple, I'd guess your people travel often, 'alays kdhlk? Eh... what was your people's name again? Asif for my memory... and also for the curiosity. You've said you share most of the work, then? So there's nothing like nobles, powerful merchants who might as well own others, and..."

He looks over his shoulder, then around - his tongue just might have got a bit too loose. Feeling around his belt for his knives, he looks at her again, apologising for the interruption, then continues. "I guess... could you tell us something more about your people?"

Both from the Mekham district...which leads to a question. But first Faruq's needed an answer, particularly as he's kind enough to point out the landmarks they were passing. She wouldn't really want to find her way out of here in a hurry on her own, but learning those landmarks couldn't hurt.

Lamis nods. "We don't travel constantly, there's no need for that. But we do have to move from one source of water and pasture to another across the seasons or risk ruining them. And we need to trade. That's the only way to get grain for bread, and the nicer fabrics, though we have good wool." She's never really thought about it. Would they be wealthier if they weren't used to bread and linen their horses and wool and mutton were able to buy? What would they do with the coin instead though? Linen instead of all wool was pretty nice.

"Our name is the same as mine, Naaji...at least our group. Hmm, you'd probably think us extended family, which is mostly true. Your folk that we meet at the oases closer to the city call us Nomads. We just call ourselves people." She didn't mention that 'city people' wasn't a particularly glowing term among them. But..."Either of you'd find a place among us easily enough, marrying in. It'd be a bit of a struggle at first, getting your home together, and a horse. But there's always a need for warriors and physicians."

As they head down the side street she asks. "So...are those living here not also Mekham? Why...is this not also part of that district?."



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ooc note: I'm pulling on half-remembered old lore-which didn't touch a lot on the Nomads; a smidge from Volsung's 'verse; research on the kind of peoples that obviously inspired them done when I played in the Great Race; and a bit of current searching. Any of which may be countered by Jewel having some different ideas that just haven't been slapped down as words here yet.

[Ali ibn Farid]

Ali glanced at Faruq, then back at Lamis. "Does marrying in happen often? I thought the Nomads mostly kept to themselves. Or, each other, rather." He frowned. Did the different groups consider each other outsiders? Was it marrying out, or in, or within when they married each other?

"I've never ridden a horse." Ali admitted. "Or a camel." He grimaced, thinking about the event coming up after this one. He'd managed to place in the first day, but he seemed exceedingly unlikely to do so today. "Wouldn't that be a problem with marrying in? I imagine everyone needs to be able to keep up." He imagined some provision was made for the young, old, or sick, but a grown adult who was unable to ride...

Getting through his questions, and coming to hers, Ali nodded his head. "The Mekham district is the old part of the city, where the people first lived. What you see here..." He waved a hand around, "-has grown up around the rest of it." He shrugged. "Or so I understand. Like much of history, there's more than one version."

[Lamis Naaji]

"Often? No. Hmmm...we tend to take a somewhat dim view of outsiders. But there have been those who have proven themselves." She thinks a moment. "Families like mine have temporarily hired outsiders...though they usually try finding folks from other families first...for things like helping guard the herds when they grew rapidly. You can grow a herd a lot faster than a family, you see." She adds with a grin.

"Also...not to put it delicately, we fight one another too. Some groups are greedy and attack others to steal from. Others have horrible luck and try to steal out of desperation, too proud to beg help instead." She shrugs."it's not an easy life, but it's a freedom that we prize."

"But yes, riding is pretty essential." There's a chuckle as she spares some attention to look toward Ali rather than keeping an eye on shadows for a moment. "Why? Are you thinking of escaping this crowded hive?"

As for the explanation of the districts, she listens, nods...and frowns slightly. "So it grew up ramshackle at the edge, but...why call it a new district when it's still Mekham living there, yes?"

[Ali ibn Farid]

"Hrmm." Ali grunted acknowledgement at the description Lamis gave. "Too proud to beg, not too proud to steal?" He frowned, considering that. "I always thought beggars above thieves myself. But I suppose perhaps it looks different from that position."

He cleared his throat. "Well. That certainly sounds different, anyway." Better or worse, he couldn't say. "I wouldn't mind if there was a little less different between the fortunate and the unfortunate here. But no." He grinned. "I'm not thinking of leaving to become a Nomad. Not unless I do much better at this next event than I expect."

The last question made him shrug. "It's to do with when they were built. Mekham District is old, very old. The Maze... well, very much less so. The buildings look very different; if someone blindfolded you and set you in front of a building from one or the other, there'd be no mistaking them."

His lips quirked. "Besides, people are always looking for one reason or another to divide themselves from others, eh?"